Boulder City Council
At the May 16 meeting, council will:
• Vote to allow the city manager to authorize intergovernmental agreements with Lafayette, Erie, Louisville and the Boulder County Housing Authority that establish a two-year pilot project. The project, funded by Boulder County and administered by city staff, aims to establish a regional approach to the housing crisis and meet state growth requirements established by Proposition 123.
• Review a proposed Boulder Housing Partners development in Gunbarrel called Sunset Park that would build 23 townhomes and 124 apartments. Two office buildings (6550 and 6560 Gunpark Drive) on the site, located south of Gunpark Drive and east of Spine Road, would be demolished.
• Hold a public hearing and vote to adopt an updated energy conservation code, which sets performance standards for new and renovated buildings. Proposed changes to the 2020 rules include requiring electric appliances in most new construction projects or renovations and refining electric vehicle infrastructure requirements to meet state standards. (The city has required EV charging infrastructure for new construction since 2017). Codes are updated every three years.
• Give direction to staff on a project aiming to curb emissions from gas-powered landscape equipment. Staff are in the early stages of exploring solutions to mitigate those impacts, which could include strategies like a complete ban of certain equipment or fuel. According to the city, emissions from one hour of lawn mower use are roughly equivalent to driving 300 miles.
Boulder County Commissioners
This week, commissioners will:
• Host a public hearing May 14 at 9:30 a.m. and vote on allowing the Parks and Open Space department to acquire four different properties totaling more than 500 acres for $8.2 million. The biggest and most expensive area includes two conservation easements (493 acres, $7.2 million) adjacent to Heil Valley Ranch open space called Spruce Gulch. Commissioners will also vote to grant United Power, a rural electric cooperative, with permanent, nonexclusive access to part of Alexander Dawson open space (north of Lafayette) to provide more electrical power to the area.
Lafayette City Council
This week, council:
• Received an update on the city’s water supply. Reservoir storage is at 95%, preventing collection of additional spring runoff. Recommended drought planning storage capacity is three years; Lafayette currently has one year. Watering restrictions remain in place, limiting residents to watering lawns three days a week, excluding the hours between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• Approved the annual request for Boulder County to partner on potential trails and open space acquisition and/or conservation projects, including trails and open space east of Old Town, an extension of the U.S. 287 multimodal trail, trail connections to Boulder at Teller Lake, and extending and preserving the Two Creeks Prairie ecosystem.
Karen Norback contributed to this reporting. All agendas are subject to change.